Change
by Nightworldlove
Summary: Korrasami week '14 - Day four; Change. Korra has left to the Southern Water tribe in order to recover properly, but when you're without any of your friends it can get harder because of the loneliness. Real friends know when to be there for each other.


The fourth prompt(/entry) for Korrasami week 2014! This was supposed to be more badassery, but... Blegh, I suck.

I hasn't been beta'd yet, but I want to thank _**crackpairingprincess **_in advance, she's amazing and I'm happy to have her as my beta-reader! ;D

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><p>It had been a little over four weeks, only little over a week and half since Korra had arrived back in the Southern Water tribe. Recovery went pretty good, maybe even better than hoped for, until now. The Avatar missed her friends, but especially one certain friend which she missed a little more. It was lonely, although her parents, Kya and master Katara were there with her; it wasn't the same.<p>

She let out a sigh and petted Naga's head, which was right next to her. Her polar bear dog was always beside her, when that wasn't possible; the animal would be as close-by as the surroundings allowed. Naga lifted her head as Korra pet her, then brought her snout close to Korra's face and licked her owner's cheek.

"Yeah, I love you too, girl. I'm glad to have you here," Korra whispered with the slightest hint of a smile. Another sigh slipped through her lips and the horrible feeling returned. Or actually it never left, just grew stronger and sometimes weakened a bit so it wasn't overshadowing other emotions. A hollow, empty feeling of uselessness and loneliness. "Why did I say no?" Naga whined softly and cocked her big head a little while looking at Korra. "Right, because I thought some time on my own would do me good… What was I thinking?" Korra said with a scowl.

"It's never too late to change your mind, you know?" Kya said, causing Korra to jerk her head up in surprise. That explained why Naga hadn't responded, she'd probably already heard it was Kya; meaning no threat. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she apologized to the Avatar.

"It's okay." Korra saw Kya walking in her direction, sitting down on the bed next to her. "I don't know, Kya. I it wise to ask her— I mean _them _to come over after all?" Kya snickered and shrugged.

"Why should it be wise? What does your heart tell you? If you really miss her, ask her if she'd still come out here to spend time with you." As Korra opened her mouth to protest, Kya held up a hand. "No, don't. I know she's special to you Korra, it's pretty obvious, but that's okay; nothing wrong with that."

Korra looked at Kya, somewhat surprised that Kya knew and was totally cool with it. "Thanks… I guess," Korra said.

"No need, I just want you to be happy, Korra. Just like everyone else."

.

It was cold, much colder because of the icy wind that whirled over the wild water of the ocean. The ship rocked by the force of the waves that crashed against it, as if trying to keep the ship from sailing forward.

"Ma'am, I strongly advise you to come inside." The young woman turned around and faced the man that was one of the employers that worked on the ship. "The storm is getting stronger and I can't guarantee your safety if you stay on deck." The engineer nodded and let the man guide her inside.

Inside there was a welcoming warmth, embracing her and making the cold disappear from her body little by little. Asami threw her hood back and ran a hand through her long black hair, causing it to cover her shoulders, breasts and most of her neck. As she sat down, the engineer decided it was warm enough for her to walk around without her coat and so she took it off, handing it to one of the ship's crewmembers.

"We will arrive there in about two hours, if the storm doesn't get worse, miss Sato," he said as he took the thick coat from the Future Industries' CEO.

"Thank you, sir. I hope all goes well for you," she answered with a sincere smile. The man bowed politely and left with her coat to put it away until she would need it again. Asami sat back and closed her eyes, allowing her thoughts to wander freely and fill her mind. Questioning herself if this really was the right thing to do, although there was no way back now. She'd come too far already to turn around and retreat; her heart warmed at the thought of seeing Korra again. Asami missed her friend dearly, so badly that employees noticed and told her to take some time off to go see her friend. Asami smiled and drowned in her thoughts, slowly drifting off into a light sleep.

.

Korra smiled as she walked a few steps, careful and slow, but she was walking nonetheless. Recovery was ging very well and she felt herself getting stronger again, little by little. As master Katara said it been enough for the day, the Avatar slowly walked over to the waterbending master and wrapped her arms around master Katara's neck for a hug.

"Thank you, master Katara."

"Don't thank me, thank yourself. You're doing most of the work," the older woman replied and smiled. "I will see you tonight for dinner, tell Tonraq and Senna that they're welcome too." Korra nodded and sat back in the wheelchair, rolling out of the room.

Almost everything had been adjusted so Korra wouldn't have too much trouble moving herself around in the wheelchair, like the paths outside. As the Avatar got outside, the sun shone, illuminating the ice and snow; reflecting and almost blinding Korra. "Well, at least it isn't storming…" Korra mumbled, followed by a soft chuckle.

"Korra!" Korra looked up as she heard her mother and smiled as the small woman came walking into her direction.

"Mom! Master Katara invited us all for dinner tonight," Korra responded as her mom reached her.

"Oh, that's really nice of her. But what I wanted to tell you—" Senna took the handles and pushed the wheelchair forward.

"Mom, you know that home is _that way_, right?" Korra interrupted, pointing with her thumb in the opposite direction. Senna grinned and nodded.

"I do, sweetie. But that was what I wanted to tell you; you have a visitor who we're going to pick up at the harbor," Senna explained and saw Korra turn her face towards Senna.

"Honestly?" Senna nodded, still smiling. "Who?!" Korra beamed, excited and curious.

"You'll see, soon enough," Senna answered, glad to see her daughter like this again for the first time since she got here.

.

As another shiver went through her, Asami put her hood up, protecting her neck from the cold in the hope to stop the shivering. Every time she exhaled her breath was visible in a semi-transparent puff, her hands were ice cold even though she wore quite warm gloves. The engineer was certain that the tip of her nose was red from the cold, so she tried to pull her scarf over it again.

At least she could enjoy the view, the sun that shone onto the snow and ice created colorful rays everywhere. It all looked beautiful and serene, nothing you'd see back in Republic City. Asami smiled, trying to stay optimistic and reminding herself why she was here; it worked.

She heard a very familiar voice and turned around, smiling as she saw Korra and Senna. "Asami!" Korra shouted excitedly, Asami's heart jumped at hearing how happy Korra was to see the engineer.

"Korra!" Asami called back, just as excited. She ran towards the two, slowing down as she saw Korra getting out of the wheelchair and take a few steps. Asami's jaw dropped and she came to a halt, watching the Avatar walk, a bit hesitant still. "Korra…" Asami gasped and felt herself getting emotional. She couldn't hold herself back and closed the distance between them, lifting Korra of the ground in a hug and not letting the watertriber go for about two minutes. "You can walk again…"

"Just short distances though, but yeah," Korra replied with a big smile. She was really happy to see her friend again, she'd missed Asami and the amazing smell of the engineer's shampoo. "You smell nice, I missed you and your shampoo," Korra confessed, cheeks turning a deep pink.

"Good thing that I brought an extra bottle than," Asami said with a chuckle and put her friend back onto her feet. "Sorry for coming while you told me 'no' the first time I offered to come with you Also for coming here without a warning, but I just… It felt so different without having you around," she confessed, looking way from Korra.

"I know _exactly _what you mean, 'Sami. I already feel so much better now you're here!" Korra smiled brightly and made Asami look at her again by gently taking Asami's chin between her thumb and index finger. "Thank you for coming, Asami. _Really_," Korra whispered and held on to Asami as she felt her legs give out. She'd been standing on them for too long in the cold.

"Korra, careful!" Senna said and placed the wheelchair right behind the Avatar so she could sit down directly. "And welcome, Asami. Hope your trip went alright?" Asami nodded with a polite smile. "Good to hear that, dear. Now let's go get inside, you must be freezing!"

"To be honest, I think I've passed that station a while ago." Asami laughed nervously, feeling her body shiver violently and functioning on its reserves. Senna shook her head and hummed as she thought. Then she placed her fingers between her lips and a piercingly loud whistle sounded.

"Don't worry, sweetie. It's not far and Naga should be here in— Oh! Look, there she is."

"Good thinking, mom! Naga, please walk next to Asami so she's out of the wind?" Korra asked and the large polar bear-dog got on Asami's left side; where the wind came from. "Good girl, I'll get you a treat as soon as we get home."

.

After chatting for about two hours post-dinner, Korra's parents got up. Deciding it was time to go home and give master Katara some time with her daughter Kya before she'd go to sleep.

"Thank you for the delicious food, master Katara," Korra thanked the elderly woman.

"No need to thank me, it was my pleasure. And Korra, please remember what I said earlier." Everyone in the room looked at Katara, then Korra and back at Katara; clearly not understanding what it was about. But the Avatar nodded with a weak smile, gesturing Asami that she was ready to go. "Tonraq, Senna and of course miss Sato; it was a pleasure. Good night," Katara said and waved as the foursome departed.

"Did I miss something?" Asami whispered to Korra as they walked back towards Korra's parents' home. But instead of giving an answer, Korra just shrugged and waved it off.

"She just told me a few things; some stuff to think about," Korra explained somewhat absentmindedly.

Asami didn't really respond other than just a soft 'oh', respecting Korra's personal space and not asking about it any further. When it was time, Korra would probably tell her. And if not, that'd be okay too. All she was hoping for was for Korra to get better. Korra's parents, Katara and Kya had told about the countless of nightmares Korra appeared to have had. When the Avatar had left to the Southern Water tribe, the engineer had hoped that it would help Korra to get rid of those.

"Mom, dad," Korra started as they got closer to the small cottage-like building her parents lived. "Is it okay if I go to my room with Asami? I kinda wanna talk with her for a bit, if that's okay with you of course," Korra continued, looking at Asami at the end of her sentence.

"Of course, Korra. Anything," Asami replied, keeping her promise.

"Why wouldn't that be okay, sweetie? Just make sure you don't make it too late, you need your rest…" Senna said, kissing Korra's forehead before she went inside.

"I guess there's quite some catching up to do for you, girls. But I agree with your mother, Korra. Don't make it too late, alright?" Korra nodded and hugged her father as he wrapped his arms around her neck loosely. "Goodnight girls," Tonraq said and closed the door behind them, then went into the room Senna had gone into a few moments ago. Korra and Asami got to Korra's room in silence.

.

"So yeah, I guess that's about it," Asami said finally, she had told everything that happened since Korra had left for the Southern Water tribe. "Your turn."

Korra gave Asami a firm nod and thought for a few minutes, thinking about what she would tell and how. In all honesty, there wasn't so much she'd done, except for the healing sessions, exercises and resting in between. There was something she wanted to tell Asami, or actually two things; she simply wasn't sure _how_ to bring it.

"What's on your mind?" Asami asked calmly, placing her hand on top of Korra's, giving it a encouraging squeeze. She could almost see the wheels turning in Korra's mind; the Avatar's expression gave away the battle Korra had with herself.

"I—" Korra started, inhaled deeply and exhaled in a sigh.

"Just take your time, Korra," Asami soothed, remaining patient. Korra let out another sigh and took a deep breath.

"Not sure which one I should tell first, although I think it doesn't matter. I'm just so sick of bottling it up and I wanna leave the past behind me, and— Guess I'll start with the hardest one," Korra rambled, frustrated with herself. Suddenly she felt like breaking stuff, seemingly out of nowhere. The engineer nodded, a sweet smile formed by the painted lips. Korra closed her eyes for a few seconds and balled her fists, she'd just _do it_ and _tell_ Asami. Throwing herself into the deep, into the unknown and uncertain. "Asami, just know that I completely understand if you want to hit me after this or leave; I really do. But I _have_ to tell you, because the longer I keep it in, the more it keeps me from fully recovering; it takes too much energy that I don't have—" she took another deep breath and looked Asami right in the eye, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her. "I love you, Asami. I love you, not in a friendship-way, I _love_-love you and all I want is to be around you. For you to be with me, because whenever you're with me I feel… like I can do _anything_. I have these stupid tingles in my stomach and my chest whenever I see you or hear or even when someone _mentions _you, you're always in the back of my head. I tried to stop it, but whatever I did; nothing worked and I just… I need to know if I should try to forget about you—"

"Korra, _stop_." A tight feeling crept up in Korra's chest, it felt like her heart was pinched by a thousand needles. Maybe _this_ was what a heart attack felt like? "You don't have to 'try to forget about' me, I don't _want _you to…" Asami bit her lower lip and looked at Korra through her eyelashes; head bowed down. Asami felt her heart in her throat, making it hard for her to breathe. There hung a tension in the air, both not sure what to say or do; waiting for the other to make the first move.

For a few moments, time seemed to stand still as the words echoed in Korra's mind. She tried to figure out if it meant what she thought it did, scared that it wasn't and she'd make a fool of herself for assuming. Asami's hand was still on hers and Korra tried to move her fingers, spreading them a little. Her body sighed in relief as the non-bender did what Korra had hoped for; Asami 's fingers spread a little as well and curled around Korra's knuckles. The Avatar curled her fingers as well, laying them on top of Asami's slender ones.

"Y-you…?" Asami blushed and nodded, suddenly feeling extremely shy. But the happy and excited feeling overpowered the shyness, allowing her to move. Slowly she brought herself up to lean on her knees, upper body leaning forward towards Korra's. Her heart was beating rapidly and irregularly, just like her breathing.

Korra saw how Asami repositioned herself so she was right in front on Korra, coming closer and closer. The Avatar felt her heart beating at an abnormal high pace and her breathing seemed irregular. Her upper body leaned forward as well, until their faces were only inches apart.

"I-I'm nervous…" Korra breathed, cheeks burning. Asami nodded slowly, as if everything was in slow motion.

"Me t-too…" Asami felt Korra's breath against her lips now.

It was now or never, Korra could feel Asami's exhales against her nose and lips, that was how close their faces were. Korra yelled at herself in her mind, telling herself to just go for it; so she did. Korra exhaled through her lips before pressing them against Asami's, a little static shock surprising, but not stopping her.

Her heart felt like it exploded when she felt Korra's lips pressed on her own, Asami wanted to scream out of happiness. Chills went through her body and back, stomach going wild and her mind froze. The only word that Asami could think of to describe this feeling was _euphoric_. She felt like she was on top of the world, together with Korra, and that they could overcome, _face_ anything at this moment.

.

"Geez, I need to catch my breath…" Korra breathed when their lips broke contact, still looking into Asami's eyes. Korra's mind felt fuzzy, as if a cloud of fog suddenly had appeared inside it and taking all the space.

"Tell me about it…" Asami gasped, heart still racing in her chest. Suddenly she remembered something, there had been something else Korra wanted to tell her. "Wait, what was the other thing?"

"Other thing?" Korra asked, clearly confused. Her mind didn't function properly and left her confused as Asami looked at her while nodding. "Help me," she said and caused the engineer to chuckle.

"There were _two _things you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh? Oh. Oh! Right, yeah, now I remember. Spirits, that was bad." Asami chuckled again and shrugged, telling Korra without words that it was okay. "I wanted to ask you a favor."

"Oh? What is it?" Asami asked, intrigued.

"Will you please cut my hair?"

"Will I _what_?"

"Cut my hair," Korra repeated herself, expecting Asami to decline and maybe even argue. Instead, Asami nodded and stood up.

"How do you want it?" she asked, noticing Korra's expression; who clearly hadn't expected _this _reaction from her. But then the Avatar's expression changed and a smirk grew on Korra's lips.

"Short."

"How short?"

"Bob-short. I need some change, leaving my old self behind; including the past. I'm not the teenager anymore I was one and a half years ago," Korra explained. Asami watched Korra while explaining her how she wanted her hair and why. Asami's heart thumped in her chest and she smiled, _this_ was the Korra she'd always known. Just more mature, stronger, less insecure and motivated. Asami fell even more in love with Korra, even though she wasn't quite sure if that was even possible.

"You sure aren't _that girl_ anymore, Korra. You've clearly grown, a _lot._ You've… _changed. _I'll make sure it shows on the outside as well; hand me the scissors and let's do this." The engineer went over to business-mode, fully focused on what had to be done. She felt like Korra would only grow stronger and she would be beside her on every step of the road.


End file.
